"Bullying Bill" Conferees Named

Special Report - July 8, 2008
The North Carolina General Assembly has named the members of the conference committee tasked with finding a compromise between the House and Senate on HB 1366–School Violence Prevention Act. The House version of the bill, also known as the “Bullying Bill,” seeks to prevent bullying in schools, but also enumerates certain groups based on factors like race and religion as well as “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression” that would receive special consideration. The practical effect of this bill would be to create a legal status for the categories “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression,” therefore legitimizing these categories in North Carolina law and paving the way for homosexuality, bisexuality, cross-dressing, and other “alternative” behaviors to be promoted in North Carolina public schools.

After HB 1366 passed the House, the Senate removed the enumeration section from the bill. The House then rejected the Senate version and sent HB 1366 to a Conference Committee. The committee will try to reach a consensus between both chambers on a new version of the bill, which then must be approved by the full House and Senate and signed by the Governor before being enacted into law.

Members of the House include Rep. Rick Glazier (D–Cumberland), Rep. Tricia Ann Cotham (D–Mecklenburg), Rep. Angela R. Bryant (D–Nash), Rep. Winkie Wilkins (D–Person), Rep. Cary D. Allred (R–Alamance), Rep. Karen B. Ray (R–Iredell), and Rep. Susan C. Fisher (D–Buncombe).

Senate members include Sen. Doug Berger (D–Franklin), Sen. Charles W. Albertson (D–Duplin), Sen. William R. Purcell (D–Scotland), Sen. Walter H. Dalton (D–Rutherford), Sen. Stan Bingham (R–Davidson), Sen. Charlie Smith Dannely (D–Mecklenburg), and Sen. Janet Cowell (D–Wake).

Copyright © 2008. North Carolina Family Policy Council. All rights reserved.